Story:Star Trek: Pioneer/On a Knife Edge
| author = Dave Philpot | published = June 2009 | date = | stardate = June 2598 | previous = | next = | image2 = | caption2 = }} On a Knife Edge is the first story in the series Star Trek: Pioneer. In the year 2598, a new species threatens the Federation and attacks one of its key worlds as a prelude to invasion. (Series Première) Blurb The year: 2598. The Federation is clinging to survival after a cataclysmic attack on one of its most prominent worlds. As a ragtag fleet regroups, a still unknown enemy returns to Federation space in an attempt to finish off one of the galaxy’s longest running empires. They call themselves the Saer'nar. A nomadic yet technologically sophisticated race that has traveled for over 1400 years from its origin in the Andromeda Galaxy. A race that intends to restart its once proud empire, at the expense of all who stand in its way. In an emergency meeting, the Federation appoints Lorel of Vulcan as its new president. Attempting to maintain already fragile alliances whilst keeping the Saer'nar at bay, the revered diplomat must send his forces to fight for the very existence of the Federation’s future, or face complete annihilation. Chapters * * * * * * * * * * * * *Chapter 12 *Chapter 13 *Chapter 14 *Chapter 15 *Chapter 16 *Epilogue *Acknowledgments Synopsis :This is a summary of the story up to its last update, so don't read this if you haven't read the book yet, or aren't going to! In June 2598, a Gorn trading vessel is destroyed by an unknown ship, which refuses to identify itself. On Lakendi II, Federation President Lorel meets with Fleet Admiral Turnbull. As there are few Starfleet ships left, Lorel orders them to stay put, so they can keep control over key systems. Turnbull says the Romulans should help; they have yet to return a favour to the Federation. Lorel orders the USS Pioneer into active duty once its repairs are complete. Captain Edward Mantree, the Pioneer's commanding officer, meets his first officer, a Romulan called Lhaihtrha Taev, and asks him to arrange for the senior staff to have an informal meal that evening. Lhaihtrha meets up with Brox, the chief engineer, and they get reacquainted. The Romulan then meets security chief Jenny Parker on the bridge, who gives him personnel files to review. Mantree finds out from Starfleet Command what the Pioneer's mission is. The senior officers have an informal briefing about the Pioneer's mission, as Mantree was given two words by Lorel: 'Anaura' and '31'. They deduce that Anaura is a planetoid within Tholian space, and that 31 refers to the believed extinct Section 31. That night, Mantree "relives" the past few moments of an attack on Earth in a flashback. A fleet of unknown ships enters Klingon space. Nick O'Connell, the comm officer, and K'Jan, the navigator, discuss O'Connell's mixed heritage and K'Jan's Starfleet "career" in the turbolift on the way to the bridge. Minutes later, the Pioneer is launched. A Federation science vessel, the USS Renaissance, is destroyed in orbit of Ogat by another unknown ship, later revealed to belong to the Saer'nar race. Lhaihtrha informs Mantree of their progress in the holodeck, where the captain has recreated a famous port from Earth. The Pioneer had picked up an automated distress call from the Cardassians, but no indication of who attacked them. In stellar cartography, Mantree discovers it will take weeks to locate Anaura, and the Tholians are unlikely to let the Pioneer traverse so much of their space. Mantree tells Lhaihtrha that the Tholians have some secure information from the Federation held on Anaura, for protection, and that the Federation Council has placed its trust in the Tholians to aid in future relations with them. At the Tholian border, the Pioneer meets with a Tholian ship, whose commander originally denies that Anaura exists. Asking that the Pioneer follows them with weapons deactivated, the Pioneer is left alone to navigate a star desert filled with intense gravimetric distortions in order to find Anaura. Background Information *The main idea for part of the plotline was inspired by the film . *The writer wishes to keep with continuity and canon, and so having this story set well after all the series have finished makes it a lot easier. *Characters referenced from canon series: Spock, Montgomery Scott. Other *Memorable Quotes *Pioneer Trailer References Ambassador; Anaura; Archer IV; Archer IV shipyards; atmospheric dissipation; Brox; Ch'Morgh; Children of Destiny; Corias Prime; Crassana, Medji; Donares, Ella; Earth; exogenetics; Fara Prime; Galorndon Core; Genesis; Gorn; Gornar; Gorn Hegemony; Grolek Tepp; ; ; Interspecies Trade Alliance; Jurana City; K'Jan; ; Kkossa; Lakendi star system; Lakendi II; Lhaihtrha Taev; Lomax, Dan; M'Char; Mantree, Edward; Milky Way Galaxy; Mushisaki, Eiko; nusca; O'Connell, Nick; Office of the President of the United Federation of Planets; Ogat; Padena VII; Parker, Jennifer; Romulan Central Command; Romulan Neutral Zone; Romulans; Sadler's Bar; Saer'nar cruiser; Samanya, Samuel; Section 31; Sector 001; Sigma Theta; Skkan; Spock; Ssaur system; star desert; Tholian Assembly; Tholian; Timms, Andrew; transquantic torpedoes; Turnbull, Derek; United Federation of Planets; ; ; ; ; Xindi; Xindi-Arboreal; Xindi Coalition; Zalkad; Zalkadian